International Style in the context of Functionalism (architecture)


International Style in the context of Functionalism (architecture)

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⭐ Core Definition: International Style

The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to functional and utilitarian designs and construction methods, typically expressed through minimalism. The style is characterized by modular and rectilinear forms, flat surfaces devoid of ornamentation and decoration, open and airy interiors that blend with the exterior, and the use of glass, steel, and concrete.

The International Style is sometimes called rationalist architecture and the modern movement, although the former is mostly used in English to refer specifically to either Italian rationalism or the style that developed in 1920s Europe more broadly. In continental Europe, this and related styles are variably called Functionalism, Neue Sachlichkeit ("New Objectivity"), De Stijl ("The Style"), and Rationalism, all of which are contemporaneous movements and styles that share similar principles, origins, and proponents.

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International Style in the context of Philip Johnson

Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect who designed modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the postmodern 550 Madison Avenue in New York City, designed for AT&T; 190 South La Salle Street in Chicago; IDS Tower in downtown Minneapolis; the Sculpture Garden of New York City's Museum of Modern Art; and the Pre-Columbian Pavilion at Dumbarton Oaks. His January 2005 obituary in The New York Times described his works as being "widely considered among the architectural masterpieces of the 20th century".

In 1930, Johnson became the first director of the architecture department of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. There he arranged for visits by Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier and negotiated the first American commission for Mies van der Rohe, after he fled Nazi Germany. In 1932, he organized with Henry-Russell Hitchcock the first exhibition dedicated to modern architecture at the Museum of Modern Art, which gave name to the subsequent movement known as International Style. In 1934, Johnson resigned his position at the museum.

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International Style in the context of Supreme Court Building (Puerto Rico)

The Supreme Court Building (Spanish: Edificio del Tribunal Supremo) is the seat of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, the highest court of the judicial branch in the U.S. territory, located within the grounds of the Luis Muñoz Rivera Park in the Puerta de Tierra historic district of San Juan, the capital municipality. Built by the Toro Ferrer firm in 1955, the Tropical Modern, International Style courthouse is a three-story, rectangular edifice projected over a perpendicular reflecting pool. Situated in the eastern end of San Juan Islet, it is about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the Capitol, seat of the legislative branch, in the center of the Islet near the entrance to the Old San Juan historic quarter, and 2 miles (3.2 km) from the La Fortaleza, seat of the executive branch, in the western end of the Islet in Old San Juan. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

The Supreme Court building is home to the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico, the highest court in the archipelago and island, and is the successor to the Real Audiencia Territorial (Royal Territorial Court), a court of appeals with jurisdiction over Puerto Rico first founded by the Spanish Empire in 1832. Its construction marked the newly established commonwealth status of Puerto Rico, which was specified in the Constitution of Puerto Rico in 1952. The building was officially inaugurated in February 1956 with U.S. Supreme Court chief justice Earl Warren as the main speaker.

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International Style in the context of 1211 Avenue of the Americas

1211 Avenue of the Americas, also known as the News Corp. Building or the FOX Building, is an International Style skyscraper on Sixth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Formerly called the Celanese Building, it was completed in 1973 as part of the later Rockefeller Center expansion (1960s–1970s) dubbed the "XYZ Buildings". Celanese, its primary tenant, later moved to Dallas, Texas. The building is owned by Ivanhoé Cambridge as of 2023.

The structure has a simple slab-like shape devoid of any decoration, its prosaic façade consisting of vertical alternating limestone and glass stripes. The façade stone piers are supernumerary; there are twice as many of them as structurally necessary. The glass bands are contiguous and offer no indication of floor levels. These features ably create the visual lack of scale, so the tower does not look overly bulky.

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